


Not So Different

by lestychu, MrYaksup



Series: Not So Different [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - SlaveTale (Undertale), Basically there's a ton of mature themes, Because I'm a masochist like that, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Lots of Angst, POV Second Person, Past Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Reader Has Secrets, Reader Is Not Chara (Undertale), Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Reader has female parts, Reader is named (kinda), Reader is not Frisk or Chara (Undertale), Slow Burn, Smut, Soul Sex, also lots of mature themes, but thats later too, we'll get to those later (much later), youve been warned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:29:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28820007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lestychu/pseuds/lestychu, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrYaksup/pseuds/MrYaksup
Summary: Life is dangerous. The outside world... it's not at its finest point. Negotiations between monsters and humans? They failed. Now with monsters enslaved and humans reigning supreme, the world is a dangerous place. Monsters and mages alike are under constant surveillance, many being trained, never to be themselves ever again.In a world like this, you were always careful to keep your cards close to your chest. From monsters, mages, or humans. It didn't matter, you knew you had to be careful.And though you longed for interactions, for friends, this was just how the world worked right?But well....When a certain skeleton showed up at your front step, and you let him into your home, naïve as you were. You... quickly grew attached and...Well that was the opposite of careful wasn't it?
Relationships: Sans (Undertale) & Reader, Sans (Undertale)/Reader, Sans (Undertale)/You
Series: Not So Different [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2113053
Comments: 20
Kudos: 52





	1. Prologue: Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> Heya! 
> 
> So this is actually a fic based on an au of a fic that my girlfriend made! Her fic is Wavering Integrity, and while it is similar to this one it is definitely mature themed. Dubcon/Noncon themes are a huge premise of her fic! So if that stuff gets ya squeamish then tread carefully!
> 
> But in this version, things are a bit different! 
> 
> This is my first fic that I'm ever posting, so be patient with me sweet beans! 
> 
> Hope ya enjoy it! :)

Cold. It was blisteringly cold.

There was something hard against your cheek. Upon further investigation it seemed metallic as well. You felt around blindly, noticing a metal floor, and it seemed as though bars were surrounding you on all sides. “M-Mom..?”

No matter how hard you tried, you couldn't open your eyes. You were lost in darkness.

You sat up into a crouching position, continuing to blindly reach out, but you couldn’t make heads or tails of where you were. This wasn’t your bedroom, it didn’t even seem to be in your home. So just _where_ were you? Where was mom..? Was she here too?

_Why couldn't you open your eyes?_

_What was going on, where was mom?_

_Dad?_

_Hello….?_

“Mom?! Dad?!” Your voice was hoarse as you cried out, the only response back however, was deafening silence. You couldn’t hear much, other than your breathing which was growing more and more haggard the more you panicked. “Anyone?!”

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

You felt hot tears begin to sting at your eyes and roll down your cheeks. “Someone?” You hiccuped out a soft breath. Those hiccups turned to sobs, and from sobs, to wailing. Before you knew it, you were screaming at the top of your lungs, for someone, _anyone_ to help you. You were lost, you didn’t know where you were, where your parents were, and you needed help, you had to get back home.

You curled up into a small ball only for a sharp stinging sensation to rocket up your body from your leg to your fingertips. “Wh-What...?” In the darkness, you reached your hands down to touch your left calf, “O-Ow!” More tears welled up in your eyes as you took your hand back as though you’d been burned. The moment your fingertips had brushed against the skin another shock wave of pain had shot up your body.

“What is…?” Something warm and sticky was on your fingers, what was on your leg? Gingerly, you experimented with poking and brushing your fingers against your leg in different areas. Most lead to the same burning pain pulsing through your body, but some places were safe. “Did I fall…?”

You couldn’t understand what had happened to you. Why was you leg so badly hurt? Were you hurt elsewhere too? Much like you’d done with your leg, you slowly began to tap and prod at several places on your body.

You soon learned that not only your leg, but also your shoulder and upper right arm were badly damaged. What the heck had happened to you? There was sticky liquid coating the tips of your fingers, and you didn’t like the smell it gave off.

_What had happened to you?_

“H-Hello..?” You tried calling out once more. Surely someone would realize you were injured and they’d help you, right? “I’m…. I’m h-hurt p-please… someone?”

You attempted to push yourself up into a standing position, but your injured limbs were too wobbly to stand on, also you felt your head bump painfully into something overtop of you. “A-Ahh… ooww…” You held your head in your hands as you slumped back down into the couching position you’d previously taken, whimpering pitifully.

“Okay… k-keep calm…” you took in a small, controlled breath, trying to calm your ever beating heart. “M-Mom will come get me soon… it’s only a matter of time s-so…For now… let’s… retrace our steps.”

The last thing you _could_ remember was your mother. Both of you had been preparing dinner, and you had been learning how to make a casserole. Your father was _just_ about to come home, and you’d wanted to surprise him with the new meal your mother had just taught you. But… then what happened...? You remembered your mother turning on the news and-

Suddenly you heard metal scrape against metal, the sound so loud and piercing that you had to cover your ears. It was followed by a heavy slam that seemed to echo throughout whatever room you were in. “H-Hello...?” You called out, but there was no response. Heavy footsteps followed.

_Thud. Thud. Thud._

“Hello?” You blindly held your hands out, reaching the metal bars that surrounded you and gripping them tightly in your hands. “I-I’m… b-badly hurt! Can you help me? Are you here to help me?”

_Thud. Thud. Thud._

“Is my mother around? She’ll know who I am!” You could feel yourself growing more and more hopeful as the footsteps came closer, and closer. “My name is-“

The footsteps stopped.

You had believed that this person had been here to help you, free you. Perhaps they even knew where your mother was, where your father was. You were going to be okay, this silent person, they’d free you, they’d help you see. You could see your parents again. They would help you.

_They would help you, you thought._

If only that had been the case.


	2. Agoraphobia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just who was that who fell?

“And remember Charlotte! Make sure to keep the house tidy, we’ll return in a few weeks’ time.”

You grumbled slightly as your mother reminded you for the _hundredth_ _time_ to keep the house clean, but nodded and returned her embrace.

Your parents were going on their third trip of the year, something that you were more than used to at this point. They always were having to go on business trips, which meant you would be alone for some time. Their trips ranged from the length of three days to three months. There was no telling how their business deals were going to go when they first departed.

It wasn’t at all unusual for you to be alone, you weren’t sure _why_ exactly your mother was making such a huge deal out of it this time. You new this wouldn’t be the first, nor the last time that they’d be leaving you alone in the house to your own devices.

Your mother and you separated from your embrace, and she gave you one more smile before she turned and entered the passenger side of your father’s silver sedan. Your father always got a new model car practically every three or so years, as his business wanted him to look like the slickest around. It was odd to you that such commodities were deemed as _necessary_ to the business that both of your parents were employed at... Not that you knew much about their business deals, they were pretty tight lipped when it came to talking about work.

“You have the number for the credit card memorized don’t you, Charlotte?”

Your father’s voice made you perk up out of your thoughts and you gave him a small smile and a thumbs up.

Your father had always scared you just a bit. The stony expression he always had on unsettled you at times, but he never did anything to harm you, so you always figured that you were just being overly paranoid. “I remember dad, no worries on that front.”

He simply nodded before giving you a quiet, ‘goodbye’. Then much like you mother, he stepped into the car.

The engine ignited, and you watched as they pulled out of the garage and out into the street. You followed, stepping out onto the rough concrete of the driveway, and seeing them off as they continued down the street, only stopping briefly at a small stop sign, before pulling out of your sight.

“Welp… another few weeks alone it is...” You let out a small sigh.

Suddenly you were _all_ too aware of the cold air that was creating a small chill up your spine. Your hands felt clammy as you pawed at the hem of your sweater. Your heart was in your throat, and you felt extraordinarily vulnerable.

You hated being outside by yourself.

Before the onset of a panic attack started to really set into motion, you quickly scurried back into the garage, making sure to close the large metal gate and secure the latch on the door into your home. Only then could you relax.

You weren’t sure why, but the outside alone had _always_ unsettled you. You were fine if you were with someone, if someone was watching you, but the moment that you were alone was when things really got bad.

Your hands always would get clammy, and your heart rate would skyrocket. Your parents had called it agoraphobia. _Heh, Isn’t that sad. A 24-year-old being scared of the world around her._ You mused, huffing out a humorless chuckle. It was something that had made you feel ridiculously helpless, something about being actually diagnosed really got under your skin at first.

You’d been so upset, helpless, confused. A 24-year-old girl afraid of her own shadow? How pathetic was that? But it just became a way of life for you. You just made sure to only go outside whenever you were with one of your parents.

The only place you _did_ feel safe outdoors by yourself was the backyard, but that was entirely encased in an 8-foot-tall brick fence. It wasn't like anyone could climb it with regular means, and besides, if someone _was_ trying to climb it, you’d hear it and could easily get back inside and call your parents or the authorities before anyone could ever cause harm to you. To you it was like your own little hideaway.

Your parents had always strongly suggested to stay away from the outside, of course unless they were present. Your father would always warn you of the terrible things that could happen if you strayed to far from the house.

_God the number of scary movies that he used to make me watch…_

You got chills just thinking about all the episodes of true crime and serial killer documentaries he had you watch with him a few years ago. That mixed with your already crippling fear of the outdoors _really_ made for a messy cocktail of fear.

You heaved out a sigh, slipping off your shoes and then stepping onto the plush carpet in the living room. You really couldn’t complain about not being able to go outside though, even if it was a self-inflicted rule. Your house was _amazing._

You lived in a pretty extravagant mansion. It was two stories tall and was equipped with practically everything that you could need anyway. Your parents had the only bedroom on the ground floor, and you took one of the several rooms on the second floor. All in all, there were probably around 7 bedrooms in total, a fully stocked kitchen, a patio with several plants (your own little garden), a pool, and probably about 4 full bathrooms as well.

In a place like this, it was really easy to never overcome your fear of the outside. Why leave when you had all this luxury?

While it was great, you really did wish that it wasn't so quiet. Despite having such a large mansion, your parents didn’t ever employ any maids or butlers. Instead, you mostly took care of the cleaning while they were away. You did the cooking as well when they were home, and even that was on special occasions. Even when your parents _were_ home, all of you basically kept to your own devices. On several occasions you didn’t even see each other for several days, even if they were home.

While your lifestyle was definitely one lush with luxury, you really longed for someone around to enjoy it with you. Movie marathons just seemed soulless when you did them by yourself, and it wasn’t very fun playing video games or watching comedy shows with no one else to laugh along or play with you. It was pretty damn lonely in this place.

You hadn’t had a friend for as long as you could remember. You were constantly moving around when you were younger, so it wasn’t like you really had the time to make friends.

Once again, you heaved out a heavy sigh, and began your usual routine for when your parents left you alone. First, you made sure to double, then triple check that all of the doors, windows, and even that the garage was secure and locked tight. Then, you checked your food supply for the next few weeks. The fridge had a few things in it, sandwich stuff, some milk, but you definitely were going to have to order out occasionally. Not that that was a problem, your father did check and make sure you knew the credit card number for a reason after all. It wasn’t like they expected you to go hungry.

_Well, I can order groceries later… for now though.._

You walked back into your living room, the tall ceilings seeming to make the room seem _far_ too large for just one person. You stretched your arms above you, humming as your spine made a satisfying pop. Then you flopped back onto the plush cushions of the velvety blue couch, taking the television remote into your hands and opening up Hulu.

May as well get started on binging kitchen nightmares, right? It wasn't like you were going to be doing anything else while your parents were gone. Or well, that’s how you’d expected the next three weeks to go.

_Oh how wrong you were._

Just as you had really begun to sit back and relax into watching Gordon Ramsey start to scream his head off at restaurant owners, you heard something. At first it just was a motor, and you assumed some asshole was speeding down your street. It wasn’t uncommon, and you knew that it would go away soon enough. But… that wasn’t it. No this sounded… louder, larger. You could hear the puff of exhaust and the roaring of the engine.

You could hardly hear your show over the noise, so you got up from your spot on the couch. You walked over to your front door, and curiously peaked out from behind the beige curtains. 

That’s when you saw it.

A large blue truck, with the words “MONSTER BEHAVIORAL CORP.” in bold green letters sped by the window. Well, _"sped",_ it’s more like it putted along. You could see black smoke billowing from out of the exhaust pipe.

You were used to this kind of occurrence, having lived here for three years. Your street was fairly close to the nearest monster camp. In the past two years, when monsters first emerged and were enslaved, the corporations who handled their trading and selling designed the camps as a kind of _home base_. There were several of them, even in the city that you lived in. From what you knew there were at least three or four monster camps on the opposing ends of your city. Your house just happened to be close to the camp at the south end. From the camps, monsters were always sent out into different types of facilities. You didn’t know the specifics, but you could only assume that they weren’t good. From what you’d seen online, monsters could go to one of three places: the training facility, the nursery, or the processing plant.

You didn't really have all that much information on anything concerning monsters. All you really knew of was the different facilities they had the potential to be sent to, and even that was only due to a few advertisements that you’d seen when surfing the web.

It was fairly similar for mages, although, mages had been enslaved for _years_.

You were just about to go back to your show as the truck passed but something happened. Something you didn’t expect was to see something falling from the back of the truck. Your heart skipped a beat as you watched something pale white fall from the back of the truck and land _hard_ on the concrete below.

You brought your hands up to your mouth as you gasped, and although you had seen this spectacle, the truck just kept driving, seeming all but unaware to the form that fell.

“That monster is fine right...?” You mumbled to yourself, watching with eyes the size of saucers. But the monster wasn’t getting up. They just laid there, practically in your driveway.

“I-I should go out there!” You were so sure of that plan, at least until your hand touched the cold metal doorknob, and you stared at your door, unmoving. It was the only barrier separating you from the outside. “I.. I should go get that monster and…”

But your body refused.

 _If I go out there… I’ll be alone and…_ You felt your body begin to tremble. _I can’t go outside alone… what if something happens?_ You winced a bit as you thought about it.

But then you glanced out the window, at the monster. They still were unmoving, curled in a ball on the concrete. The sun was going down as well, it was going to be dark and if a car came…

You couldn’t bare to think of shimmering dust spread across your driveway.

So, steeling yourself, you opened the door, and took your first step.


	3. Charcoal Cookies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unforeseen encounter, but lets be real, we all were waiting for it.

The cold air sent a chill up your spine. _Better get this over with fast_ you thought, just being outside already sending a small sliver of anxiety through your body. You stepped out further, neglecting to close the door as you did so. It wasn't like you had any pets to worry about escaping, so why bother? Besides, having some sort of opening to scurry back to incase things went wrong just seemed like a good option to have.

You regretted not grabbing your coat in your haste; the cold wind seemed to blow directly through you. You ignored that for now though, you’d be back inside soon enough, and you had other problems on your mind.

Speaking of said problems, as you approached you could make out more and more detail of the figure before you. Turns out the monster that fell wasn’t just white, no, they were skeletal in nature, which seemed rare. Out of all the monsters you’d seen in your time (which weren't a lot looking back on it) none of them had ever been as striking as this one. Most of them had been rabbit monsters, you’d met a kindly goat monster once, and at best that robot one that everyone raved about on tv. Their master must have been a big star and wanted to show off their monster as well. Hell, if you knew.

Bending down, you brought the skeleton's head to your lap. They made a groaning noise as you did so but didn’t stir any further. They were surprisingly light, but considering the fact that they merely were _just_ a skeleton, it seemed to make sense.

“Hello..?” You called out softly, unsure what course of action to take. You knew your parents wouldn’t be exactly pleased at you for bringing in a random monster from the street, but what other choice did you have? You soul wouldn’t let you just _leave_ them here. So you sighed, deciding that for now you would take them inside and figure the rest out later.

“Alright stranger...” You said as you hoisted the skeleton up on your back in a piggyback type of fashion “Let’s get you inside before something happens.” The outside was already starting to get to you, you didn’t much enjoy the chattering of all the insects in your ears. You could’ve sworn that you felt eyes on you from all the other houses around as well. It was unnerving.

Thankfully, sooner rather than later, you were inside. You’d somehow managed to make it up the stairs and deposit the skeleton into one of the guest room beds. “Okay… so now I guess… we need to get him out of those rags…” You mumbled to yourself, taking in the state that the skeleton's clothing was in. Rags _really_ wasn’t even an overstatement. They were dressed in a blue smock for a shirt, and the thing was all shredded. The hem was a stringy mess, and their pants weren’t much better off. They were dressed in some kind of black sweatpants, and those seemed to have been patched up on a few different occasions. They were slightly stained and dirty as well.

Sighing, you turned to the wooden dresser on your right. Thankfully, your parents had guests over quite frequently when they hosted parties or banquets at your home, and while those banquets weren’t _terribly_ often, your parents had made it a point to keep the guest bedrooms stocked with a fairly basic array of clothing. ‘Whatever a guest might need’ they used to say. Well, it worked out for you at this point at least.

You opened the top drawer, grabbing a pair of rather plain white socks and placing them on the bed next to the skeleton. Next you opened the second drawer, and from there you obtained a dark blue sweater and a pair of sweatpants that was left for guests. Only difference between these and the pair that they were already wearing was that these were _far_ cleaner, and free of any rips and patches. Other than that they were pretty close in design, hopefully that could provide some kind of comfort. You hoped it would at least.

You closed the drawers of the dresser and then turned back to the skeleton, taking note of the few scratches and discolored bones that you could only equate to having a bruise. “Poor thing… you’ve been through a lot of shit haven’t you.” You sigh, a monster’s life isn’t really one of luxury, not if the monster trucks were any sign. But that aside, you had to get to your next task, changing them into some comfier clothing.

You felt your face heat up slightly as you began the process of removing their clothing, which was odd, they were nothing but bones right..? Gently you took their head er- skull, into your hands and gently lifted the ratty shirt up and off of their body. Gingerly, you tugged the new clean sweater onto their body, doing your best to pay no mind to the intricate bones as you did. “Okay… now for the second half.”

With mild difficulty you were able to change the skeleton into new clothing all while keeping your head from spinning.

Once they woke up you would explain everything. You weren’t sure if they'd be relieved to be taken care of, upset about what happened, or frightened to be in a new environment, maybe all three combined. You figured some research was in order. After all, you knew next to nothing other than common knowledge when it came to monsters. Taking care of them was something you had absolutely no expertise in whatsoever. _Well.. I’ll only be taking care of them if they stay long term…_ You groan slightly, your brain had already been rattling with ideas. You hadn’t met anyone new for a _long_ time and you were desperately in need of a new friend.

You hadn’t interacted with someone your own age in…… yeah it was time to make some friends. Well, gazing back down at the skeleton in your bed, you weren’t sure if they were even _close_ to your age. Once again something you had little to no knowledge in. They didn’t look like a child… but they didn’t look that far into adulthood yet either... Huh…

Either way, you tucked them in the blankets gently, making sure to put a cool cloth on their head. You didn’t think they had a fever but… it couldn’t hurt right?

You softly closed the door behind you as you exited the room and made your way downstairs. What a day…

You sat yourself back into the plush cushions of the couch, snagging your laptop and opening up your search engine. You weren’t super sure if skeletons in particular needed anything specific to survive. They were all bones so… maybe a lot of milk..? That was good for a _human’s_ bones right? Vitamin D… calcium, all that health shit…

You sighed and ran a hand through your hair. Your ignorance on the subject of monsters was going to be a struggle, but you were determined to make this place as comfortable for this new potential friend as you possibly could.

Steeling yourself, you looked back to your laptop, typing in a simple search of ‘what monsters need to survive.’ You were brought to a page that went into detail about how monsters were made up of magic, and their bodies were simply a culmination of their soul. Insightful, but not what you were looking for.

Next search, ‘Skeletal monsters’. Nothing of interest there either, at best you got a few anatomical models and dozens of sites asking for bone marrow donations. “Shit c’mon… surely there’s something here…”

You instead decided to search up something else, something that the mere prospect of gave you jubilant excitement. 'How to become friends with someone’. This is your shot after all! You didn’t want to mess this up, you couldn’t. Not after being alone for _so_ long. Granted most sites just said, 'Be yourself!' or 'Be kind!'. Heh, being yourself was what you were scared of.

It’d been years since you met anyone even _slightly_ interesting, the most you came in contact with was the old farts that came to your parents' get togethers or banquets. Well… you would do your best to be as kind and welcoming as you could. Though…a few things _did_ say something about earning someone’s love through their stomach… maybe you could prepare something? You were sure your mother left around a few cookbooks here somewhere…

 _No no no! I’m getting sidetracked c’mon gotta stay focused!_ You glowered down at your keyboard, deleting your previous search, and instead typing in something more pertinent. ‘Basic monster care’, that seemed like an easy question to answer right? Though, all you found with this search was… sites to bags of… something akin to cat or dog food? You glared at the images on screen and set your laptop aside, exasperated. “None of this is going to help me figure out what I need to know. The best I’m going to get is just waiting until they wake up..”

You sighed, stepping up and stretching until your spine made a satisfying _pop. Well.. may as well work on making this place welcoming for them.. not much else I can do after all..._ With that you went to the kitchen. You weren’t a _great_ baker, but surely you could whip up something small in order to make them feel more at home.

That’s what you thought anyway.

A few hours later and your kitchen was an absolute _disaster_.

Flour lined the countertops in an unorganized heap, there was frosting and sprinkles strewn about _everywhere_ , and let’s not even get into the _scorched monstrosity_ that sat before you on a baking sheet.

You’d wanted to follow a simple cookie recipe that you’d found floating around in one of your mother’s cook books. Just simple chocolate chip cookies, right? Surely that couldn’t have been _that_ difficult.

_Yeah right_

How the hell were you supposed to know that whenever the book said ‘an hour and thirty-minute recipe', that it _didn’t_ mean that you had to _cook_ them that long?

Well, you were able to scrape off the charcoal-like consistency on a _few_ of them at least. That would have to be enough, you really didn’t know if you’d have the time to prepare a brand-new batch. It had already been a couple hours since you’d brought that skeleton inside. To be honest, you were starting to worry a bit. While it already wasn’t normal for a monster to _fall_ from one of the shipment trucks, it was even _less_ normal for them to stay unconscious for this long.

At least… you thought it was. You were winging everything sure, but was it really normal for someone to sleep this long? You glanced at the worn-out clock that was sat high on the wall to your left. It was around 4:30pm, which meant it had been approximately…. 3 and a half hours since your little adventure outside to help them. Had they been sleeping on the truck too? Is that why they fell off?

You took a bite out of one of your charcoal cookies and pondered this. While you would absolutely continue to care for them if they _did_ sleep for longer, it definitely would be disconcerting. Wouldn’t that be akin to…. oh what was it called… falling?

You were _certain_ that there was a term for it when monsters just never woke up. They became like an empty void; it was something about how they would lose motivation and willpower. Kind of like a _very_ intense depression. That’s what you’d heard at least.

You’d really only heard the term a few times, be it from passerby, or guests at your parent’s exquisite banquets that they held when they were actually home. They always would talk about their monsters as something akin to pets, a few of them actually bringing their monsters along to the banquets with them. Though, you weren’t really allowed to talk to them. That, and monsters weren’t allowed to speak unless directed to by their owners, or unless they were asked a question, which… honestly pissed you off. _The idea of slavery pissed you off._ But what could you do? You were just some random girl that could hardly manage going outside to get the mail without bursting into tears. You were still patting yourself on the back for even being able to get that skeleton out of the driveway without beginning to grow more panicked than you already had.

Well, even with your limited knowledge, you despised the idea of slavery. You may have never really talked to many monsters (if any at all now that you thought about it) but you felt the pit in your stomach worsen as you thought of them having to be at the beck and call of some of the fuckers out there. It sounded like hell.

You sigh and take a look back at your decimated cookies. The poor things were scorched beyond belief, you were lucky that you hadn’t set off the smoke alarm with your little kitchen experiment. Maybe you could try to add some frosting and clean them up? The tops of a few od them had made it… only the bottom was charred black. What if you-

Just as you were beginning to pace the kitchen you caught a figure from the corner of your eye, and you froze in your tracks.

Standing before you was none other than the skeleton you’d brought into your home. The t-shirt you’d put them in was drooping on their frame, clearly too large for them; they were nervously wringing their hands. Their eyes or… lack there-of were gazing at you, eye sockets opened wide, the lights in them small pinpricks.

For a moment, the two of you just stared at each other, both of you looking like a deer in headlights. After a few seconds of this though a smile split across your face. You tried your best to look as inviting as you could, large grin on your face.

“Hi! I’m so glad to see that you’re awake!” You moved to take a few steps forward which caused them to back up a couple of paces. Your smile faltered, but only for a moment. This time you spoke a little softer, “A-Are you feeling okay? You… took quite a tumble, I wasn’t sure if I should have tried to wake you up and… I mean I don’t even know how long monsters are _supposed_ to sleep! Let alone skeletons, so I just let you rest… Figured it’d be better for ya in the long run.. heh..” You trailed off as they only stared at you as though you were some kind of wild animal.

You tried not to let your disappointment at their silence get to you, so you simply continued on your small speech at this point. “So… a-anyway! I brought you in and went ahead and changed you out of those….well rags is probably a good term for ‘em at this point. They were pretty beyond repair… I’m sorry if you liked them... they’re still in the room you were sleeping in if you want them! But I just figured getting you in some comfier clothes would be better and-“

You cut yourself off when you stupidly realized that you'd basically just admitted to seeing them _naked_ since you'd changed their clothing. Blood rushed to your cheeks and you swiftly began to back pedal, raising your hands up in a bit of a passive type of gesture.

“B-But anyway!” You swallowed thickly, hoping for what it’s worth that they wouldn't dwell on it. “I’m uh, I’m-“

You paused for a moment, a twinge of discomfort making its way into your gut. It passed just as fast as it came though, _odd._

“I’m Charlotte, and.. this is my house.” You gestured slightly to the kitchen that you were both standing in at this point. “I brought you in since… well you landed pretty hard onto the cement out there… and I couldn’t just _leave you!_ ”

They seemed to perk up at this, if just slightly. Their face shifted from one of fear into one of speculation, which you were thankful for. The last thing you wanted them to be was frightened of you. They were eyeing you curiously, as though they were trying to identify if you were some type of threat. You patiently gave them a small smile, trying your best to do as the article from before had told you. _Be welcoming_ you thought as you were inspected by their gaze. _Be kind, and be yourself_. You repeated it in your head like some kind of mantra, hoping for all its worth that maybe, just _maybe_ you could make a friend.

After a few more beats of silence, they finally seemed to decide on their verdict.

“i’m… i’m fine… charlotte. thank you…” They responded in a deep, rumbly, but _very_ quiet voice, “thank you…for the bed. and the clothes.” While they (he..?) still looked like they wanted to disappear where they stood, this was a step in the right direction! They'd actually responded! You gave them a patient look of sympathy, “You’re more than welcome for both. My family just sort of keeps a lot of clothes and rooms ready for guests on a moment’s notice; so, if you dislike anything about the room or the clothing just let me know! I can fix you up with anything you’d like!”

Their sockets narrowed just slightly at that, not in a way that really appeared rude but… It definitely felt like they didn't believe a word you were saying. After a few more beats of silence he took in a controlled breath, “i… don’t really have a preference…whatever you choose is fine..”

You raised a brow at them, frowning just a bit. Well... that wasn't what you’d expected in response to your offer. You’d wanted to make them comfortable and show them that you could provide what they wanted. It wasn't like you were lacking in funds, if you really needed to you could even order whatever they wanted and just get it delivered. And well… you could understand their submission, but honestly… it upset you?

You _did_ know why it was more or less a learned behavior; monsters were slaves, and while you may not have had _all_ the information on how it was for them (aside from basic knowledge at least), you still wanted to show that you were _most definitely_ not intending to make them treat you as _any_ kind of superior. You were no better than them. It wasn't like the two of you were different realms of existence, even if they saw it as being that way.

“Well… I guess for now we can keep you in that room if you like!” You smiled, trying to put them at ease. It didn't necessarily seem to work, but god damn it you were going to try your best regardless. “Oh! I uh… I wanted to make a little something before you woke up!” You gestured to the baking tray that was behind you, scorched cookies, and all.

You looked expectantly at them, only to be met with the quizzical gaze they’d given you at majority of your comments.

They _had_ stepped a bit closer to you in order to inspect the contents of the baking tray, if you could even call it that after the mess you’d made. Their sockets were narrowed, and you couldn’t tell if the look on their face was because they were trying to discern what it even was they were looking at, or if they were currently questioning why some random stranger would just bake them cookies that looked like death.

You pouted just slightly; you’d been hoping for _at least_ a little bit more excitement over the thing that had caused you to almost burn down your kitchen. Granted… the cookies were… hardly recognizable as what they were intended to be.

Your shoulders slumped and you let out a small sigh, clearly defeated. Maybe making them had been a mistake. You could’ve done something else, _anything else_. You could have made sandwiches, made a pizza, hell even just getting out your stash of Asian confectionaries and snacks and putting them on a plate would’ve been much better than the blackened messes that sat before the two of you.

You glanced up at their face. There was a conflicted expression drawn across their features, brows puckered a bit as if they were thinking hard about something. Well, to be honest, you _most likely_ wouldn’t have trusted food from a stranger, even _if_ said stranger was treating you kindly. You’d been burned one too many times to even think about trusting a stranger. Perhaps it was hypocritical to really think someone would think in an opposite manner just because _you_ were the one offering the help.

When you thought of it that way, maybe you should just give up? Or at least show them that it wasn't a requirement. Given the state of the world, they most likely were trying to deduce if this was some kind of strange order, or if you intended on making them your pet or slave, and _that_ was the reason that you’d brought them inside.

“You don’t _have_ to eat them ya know?” They jolted a bit as you spoke up, turning to look back at your face. “I mean, don’t get me wrong! I’d be overjoyed if you did!” You gave them as sweet of a smile as you could muster, continuing. “But considering everything… and how the world just... _is,_ I don’t want you to think that this is some weird type of command.” You glanced at the mechanical collar around their neck as if to enunciate that point.

You absolutely _despised_ the things. You’d been so worked up in trying to get them inside earlier that you’d completely missed the offending thing. They hindered magical beings of any kind from using their magic abilities freely.

You’d learned quite a bit about collars at one of the many parties in the mansion. A few of your parents’ friends knew of the business and had indulged in your questions one night. They didn’t necessarily do much with them, but they worked for the corporation that had crafted them. They worked in a department that dealt with new updates and procedures for the monster side of the industry.

For monsters, cutting off their magic sounded like it was cutting off an incredibly intimate and personal part of themselves. It was basically like cutting out a huge part of their personality, considering that monsters were so highly in tune with their souls.

It wasn’t _quite_ as grueling a process of wearing them for mages, considering that they were basically humans with magic. Though, saying it was easy would be _entirely_ incorrect. Being cut off from such a natural part of yourself… would just feel wrong. To not be able to defend yourself in an instinctual way made both monsters and mages unprepared. It turned them from powerful beings into harmless little creatures that could be stuck down easily by a single command form whomever the collar recognized as their respective ‘owner’.

You couldn’t imagine how it must've felt.

The skeleton looked at you curiously, and you simply smiled back. Their expression wasn’t a happy one, but you wanted to at least try and appear as harmless as you could. The last thing you wanted to do was to hurt them. Besides, they were probably ridiculously tired, even having slept as long as they had.

_“what’s with this?”_

You blinked slightly; they were looking directly at you. Their face was pulled back almost in a scowl. They’d sounded almost offended, as though you were offering them something unreal. Like you were just waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack or something. You could’ve sworn that you heard a bit of betrayal in their voice. “I-I’m just trying to-“

"you’re just what? trying to offer me food? me? a monster?” They scoffed slightly, a humorless chuckle escaping their lips. “listen, charlotte right? don’t take this personally. but i don’t buy it.”

You were sure your surprise and disappointment was written all over your face. You looked away from their face and down to a single scorched cookie, trying to find the right thing to say. While you understood them being defensive…

“what exactly _do_ you want from me?” They sighed, looking incredibly exhausted. “you humans always want _something_. i don’t buy you just offering me food. once you do then what? i’m your pet?” They crossed their arms and looked you up and down, as if sizing you up. “like i said, don’t take this personally. but i’ve been around enough humans to know that you guys don’t exactly do the whole kindness and compassion thing very well.”

You winced slightly. You knew it was true, all of it was. Humans were the ones that had instated the ridiculous laws and made the world into the mess that it was. Two years ago you remembered seeing the news about monsters emerging, and just like they had done to mages, monsters were enslaved. Granted, the methods of forcing monsters into submission were a bit less barbaric than when humans had first enslaved mages... but mages had also been enslaved for hundreds of years. Everything they were spitting out at you... you didn't have a rebuttal for.

Still, you had to try.

You took a moment to gather your thoughts before you looked at them head on, “Still. You can have some, or... you don’t have to either if you don’t want to.” You didn't give them time to interrupt you- instead you gazed behind them, to the archway that they’d entered through. “In fact, if you wanted you could leave.” You gave them a sad smile, “I’ll admit, I’d be a bit worried and a little disappointed but… you don’t have to be here. No one is going to force you to stay.”

They were just looking at you with an incredulous stare, “you can’t be serious.”

“Oh I assure you I’m very serious about this.”

They paused, suddenly seeming very conflicted once more. “so, if i just… up and left. right now, you wouldn’t care?”

“Hey now! Don’t paint me for some kind of heartless monster” You paused, realizing what you'd just said, and let out a huff of air. “What I’m saying is, if you don’t want to stay, you’re more than free to go. Hell, take a cookie with you if ya want. I’d care, but not because of the reasons you think. I’d more just be worried about you going in your condition. Like I said, you hit the pavement pretty hard out there, bud.”

And just like that you were back at square one, partaking in a nonverbally agreed upon staring contest. They were looking at you as though you'd just taken off your head in front of them and were still talking fine.

Was receiving kindness really something that humans had beaten out of them?

... Of course it was.

You let out a small sigh, turning for the first time and walking around them. “Look, all that I’m saying is that the door is there if you ever want to go. I won’t stop you.” At this point, you figured it was most likely better for you to just give them space and let them choose for themselves what they were going to do. The door was within earshot anyway, if they really did leave just like that, you’d know. You wouldn’t stop them either.

Exhausted, you flopped unceremoniously back onto the plush cushions of the couch once more. You let out a soft groan to yourself and held a pillow over your face. How could you have been so stupid?! Of course they was going to be uneasy around you! You may be cooped up inside all the time but even _you_ know the state that the world was in, albeit vaguely. Why would they trust you? It was time to give up and just face the facts. You were not going to make friends if you stayed trapped by your own hand. Maybe it was time to go out to a bar and make some kind of stupid decisions. Your parents hadn’t said to stay in the house, they simply had said to keep it clean and make sure to remember the credit card number. You could just slip out and go somewhere, maybe meet someone from online, you didn’t know.

Just as you were letting out another agitated grumble into the pillow, you heard movement near you. They must be making their choice, and you’re about 70 percent sure that they're going to be choosing the door-

“what are you doing..?”

You jolted slightly, springing up, throwing your pillow in the process.

There before you was the skeleton that you’d been _so_ incredibly sure was going to be long gone out the door.

And in their hands was a scorched cookie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! 
> 
> if you ever want to see what I'm up to as well as get notified of chapter updates, go ahead and check out my twitter! It's @beangreenn 
> 
> https://twitter.com/beangreenn
> 
> I post all kinds of stuff there from art, to fic updates, to just some silly memes! 
> 
> Also if you'd like to check out my girlfriend's fic:
> 
> (the second author listed, though she's more so the creative consultant, as well as my lovely beta reader and editor)  
> Check out this link as well! Since the two stories are basically au's of each other it's and interesting idea to get a new perspective on what *could* have happened! 
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/18014015
> 
> Be warned! It is a mature themed story, even more so than this one! So read the tags kiddos! 
> 
> Thank you guys so so much as always for giving my fic a looksee! I'll be posting the next chapter fairly soon if I can! I do have a full time job unfortunately so updates may be a bit sporadic until I get a solid schedule for writing down, so please be patient with me ;u;


	4. Premonitions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small look into the past...

Nobody needed to tell Sans that things were going to end poorly. The second that the monsters had tried to interact with humans, things had gone… (un)expectedly poorly.

Papyrus had been filled with the kind of jubilant excitement that Sans had grown accustomed to seeing in his brother. He had bounded down the mountain dead set on making a new friend, so much so that Sans had trouble keeping up with him. The others in their little group had high hopes as well. Everything seemed to be looking up; the hell of the Underground was over with and done with.

…Or so Sans had thought.

The kid had seemed… anxious since they’d made it to the surface. Granted, Sans had had several theories for why the kid had repeated their little cycle in the Underground so many times, but even he couldn’t have hypothesized that they’d done it in order to _stall_. By the time Sans realized what harsh reality awaited them when they interacted with humans and _why_ Frisk had been so set on staying in the woods… it was already too late.

The first time, they managed to make their way to the city’s border. It had only been Sans and the kid at the time. Frisk was to act as their ambassador, and Sans was filling in for Undyne, who’d unfortunately gotten weak like most powerful monsters once they had reached the surface.

After being trapped for so long, monsters’ bodies had grown a bit reliant on the magic contained in the confined spaces of the Underground. They’d be fine on the surface of course, but it took them a few days to get acclimated to the dulled-out magic on the surface. According to Frisk it could be best described as something akin to altitude sickness. Their bodies just needed to adjust, and they’d be fine.

Unfortunately, that acclimation period is when they’d decided to make first contact.

It hadn’t gone horribly, _at first_. When they did make it to the city border, they had the plan of making their way to whatever official building they could, talk to the head of the town and maybe work on getting some kind of agreement settled. Sans had been apprehensive, but optimistic. He’d figured if worst really came to worst he could ‘port the kid and himself out and they’d regroup. It’s not like the humans would really want to fight would they?

They _had_ made it into the building at that time but… well things crumbled as soon as they caught sight of Sans. A few people had screamed at them, spewing things out like ‘ _the reaper has come for us_ ’, which... wasn't the most welcoming thing they could've come across.

Eventually, they had made it to talk to the mayor. Frisk had done their best. The poor kid had seemed to be _petrified_ the whole time they were speaking to the old stout man sneering at them. But it just hadn’t been enough. The best answer they got was that the mayor would _consider_ their offer of peace.

Heh, yeah, their offer was certainly _considered_ , but ultimately ignored.

Humans attacked the camp a week later.

During their speech, Frisk had unfortunately let loose a minor detail that led to their ultimate failure. _‘Monsters are weak and need help.’_ The kid had been trying to make monsters sound less intimidating, sure, but the humans had taken that less as the monsters being charity cases and more as them being _prey_.

All of that led Sans to now.

He was standing in a cramped little shop, tired as fuck, with a _human_ holding a leash that was clipped around his neck.

“You stupid monster” his ' _master'_ (he didn’t care what the human wanted to call themselves, he wasn’t going to submit to being a slave) sneered at him, pulling harshly on the leash they had around his neck. He didn’t bother looking up at her, knowing it was useless trying to win her favor at this point “You couldn’t even do chores right? Fucking _chores_? I can’t believe I was stupid enough to buy you.”

Sans rolled his eye lights; he’d heard the speeches before. He was tired, _exhausted_. This human in particular had managed to find him sleeping in a pile of laundry that had just come out of the dryer. Sure, he was supposed to have been folding them, but he couldn’t help it. They were warm, and comforting, and... and he was just so tired.

**_God he was tired._ **

Much like he did every other time a human brought him back to whatever dump of a store they’d purchased him at, he zoned out majorly. He knew he probably should’ve been paying more attention to whatever the clerk had been saying. He knew that he needed to protect himself, if not for his own sake than for that of Papyrus, but...

But… he was just… so… _tired_ …

Just as his sockets started to close though, he was jolted awake by another harsh tug at the noose around his throat, causing him to hack and sputter.

“Pay attention you stupid mutt!”

_Beep Beep_

Suddenly, Sans was at attention; he knew that sound _all_ _too well_. That sound was the only reason he even listened to this damn brat, no matter how little; it was the sound of the collar around his neck switching from its green neutral mode into yellow, meaning that if he fucked up, or if his master _deemed_ that he fucked up, he’d be in for a rude awakening.

So, through gritted teeth, he replied, bowing his head to keep from looking the fucker in the face. “m-my apologies…master…”

“Worm of few words, aren’t you?” she huffed, though at least his collar flicked back to its neutral state, meaning that the response was at least adequate enough for the time being. Not that it would do him any good in the long run, considering where they were headed.

They took him out back, out to a large warehouse behind the store, but he was familiar with this kind of setting. It was one of many, _many_ places that monsters were bought, sold, displayed, what have you. He’d been to that particular warehouse more times than he could count, and there were always different monsters on sale, trapped in tall cages along the walls. He made a point to search for familiar faces, half hoping he would see one of his friends and half hoping he wouldn’t.

Was it better to think that they’d already been sold to a horrible human or to see them still master-less but put on display?

They led him by the leash into the warehouse easily, as he knew not to fight at this point. It would only end in him getting smacked, or the _monstrous_ (heh) collar sending shockwaves of pain through his bones. At this point, the original clerk had handed his leash over to a different human, having instead taken to showing the woman that had owned him for around a week the several different monsters lined up against the walls.

While Sans had expected to be placed in one of the several cages in the back and left there until he dusted, the guard passed them and instead kept walking until they made it to a small steel door in the back corner of the warehouse. Having piqued his interest, Sans decided it was best to stay alert. When the humans did things that were different from the usual routine, it usually meant trouble.

Inside the door was a hallway, and then through the next door that he was taken to was a little office. There wasn’t much to it that was noteworthy; it had a desk, a few knickknacks here and there, and a chair for what Sans assumed would be clients that would come in to discuss their monsters, or buying other monsters. In a plush red desk chair on the side of the desk opposite him was a man, someone that Sans had only seen a handful of times, but… he knew that his presence really meant that he was in deep shit.

“I see you have been returned. Again”

The human spoke coldly, head perched on his interlocked fingers. Sans' leash was let go of, the end falling to the ground as the human that had led him into this cramped little office moved to stand by the door. Pf, as if Sans were stupid enough to try and escape. He knew it was no use, he’d tried several times before.

“I believe this is the fifteenth time you’ve been returned in two years. What do you think that says about you?”

He smirked. Sure he was in a pinch, but that didn’t have to take his humor with it, “heh, says to me you can’t count, bud. ‘m pretty sure that this is about the twentieth time that-"

“ ** _DON’T TALK BACK TO ME YOU INSOLENT MONSTER!_** ”

_Beep beep_

Sans flinched, shutting his mouth nearly instantly. He swore that his clenched hands were trembling, causing his bones to rattle slightly.

The collar around his neck once again flicked to the warning state- his next moves would impact how much pain he’d be in.

“You’ve been given _plenty_ of opportunities to be bought by a proper master and spend the rest of your days serving them, much like the rest of your kind” the man held the bridge of his nose between his fingers, letting out a huff and giving Sans quite the impressive glare “So, instead of making my company look even worse and attempting to sell your ass again... You’re going to the southern monster camp.”

The man gave a small sneer at Sans widened sockets “Maybe the people there can beat some sense into you. You’re aware of what this means for you aren’t you?”

He… He wasn’t going to be bought or sold ever again? But… He was headed towards the south camp. Which meant-

His fate was basically sealed...

He knew that with his measly HP they wouldn’t send him to the processing plant. Not enough magic to grind up and make into anything. They wouldn't want him to reproduce and stay at the nursery either, which meant-

…The training facility…

**_Fuck…_ **

He’d seen the monsters that came back from there before, or, well… seen what was _left of them._

They’d lost a lot of whismuns that way…

Monsters that went to the training facility _never_ came back out the same as when they went in. They became husks, _shells_ of their former selves. It was like seeing a lifeless doll masquerading as your loved ones. It was _horrific_ to watch and see.

He didn’t know much about it, but he’d heard that it was one of the most intrusive things someone could do to a person’s soul. _Willing_ your intentions on someone like that is… brutal, to say the least. By the end of the procedure (which would already most likely take months to complete, if not years), you couldn’t go back to yourself. There _was_ no going back; you were whatever the trainer wanted you to be... and that really did mean _anything_ they wanted.

Sans flicked his eye lights up to the human before him. The man wore a sneer, seeming all too pleased with Sans’ fear. Sans knew he was a shitty slave, hell he'd actively tried to rebel against any human that had bought him... but somewhere inside his soul, he'd hoped that if nothing else, his powers would be enough for the humans to still want to sell him.

He should’ve known that eventually his luck would run out.

"Follow" the man by the door ordered, ignoring the clear panic all over Sans' face. His collar immediately emitted a shrill beep and once again changed its hue to yellow, but Sans was stumbling after the human before the device could send a shockwave through his body.

To his surprise he wasn’t led outside, but instead to a small room at the end of the hallway, much like the one that he’d just come out of.

“I cannot tell you how lucky you are that you were brought here today of all days” the man said, still looking down at Sans with coldness “The only other skeleton we know of was returned just a few hours ago.”

Sans felt his soul drop into his figurative stomach.

_Pap..?_

“I understand you two are… related?” it was barely a question, the man probably already knew, but he waited for Sans to nod emptily anyway “I don’t think you deserve it, but the boss at least is giving you this much. You better be grateful he’s giving you this. You get to say goodbye.”

Wasn’t _that_ rich.

There was no problem selling, abusing them, or literally destroying their very _sanity_. Yet, saying a farewell to their family on their way out was somehow the _one_ _thing_ they could have?

Well… Sans was thankful anyway.

"You have fifteen minutes"

And with that, the door was shut in his face.

At first everything was silent. There was only a small sound of stirring behind him, and Sans tried to use the quiet as an anchor, as a way to hold himself steady for what he knew would be a painful parting. He didn't have much time, he had to apologize and comfort and- shit, shit don't cry-

"... Brother?"

Fuck.

He barely could will himself to turn around slowly as he saw his brother, sitting on one of the hundreds of empty chairs in the space, rubbing at his eye sockets. He'd clearly been napping before Sans had come in, and probably wasn’t restrained simply because he’d been ordered not to leave the room.

Hah, hilarious. Napping was the very thing that had gotten him into this mess in the first place.

Fucking Narcolepsy.

"... hey pap" he spoke quietly. Solemnly.

Papyrus clearly didn't understand what was happening at first, because he perked up and stood like lightning from his chair, relief and stars of excitement in his sockets.

He’d clearly been treated well wherever he’d been previously, because unlike the ragged, dirty green gown Sans had on Papyrus had actual good clothes on his frame, a shirt and shorts that surprisingly fitted him.

“SANS! IT IS SO GOOD TO SEE YOU, BROTHER!” he ran to where Sans was, picking him up and hugging him with ease. Sans couldn’t look at him “OH, I AM SO HAPPY! I WAS QUITE SAD WHEN I WAS ABRUPTLY RETURNED TODAY, BUT MAYBE IT IS BECAUSE I WAS MEANT TO SEE YOU HERE! FATE SURE IS A KIND MISTRESS!”

Sans wanted to cry. To think that he would get to see his brother for the first time in two years like this… When he would never see him again. The thought made him hug Papyrus back hard, burying his face into his shirt.

He sniffed, fighting back tears “…pap… i missed you… i’m sorry…”

“AW. I MISSED YOU TOO, BROTHER! DEARLY!” Papyrus didn’t even want to let go of him, walking with him in his arms to sit on a chair “BUT THERE IS NO NEED TO APOLOGIZE! I KNOW IF YOU HAD BEEN ABLE TO STOP IT, WE WOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN SEPARATED. IF… IF I HAD BEEN ABLE TO STOP IT, IT WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED EITHER. BUT!! THE IMPORTANT PART IS THAT WE’RE HERE TOGETHER NOW! NYEHEHE!” Papyrus continued on with cheer, but as he let go of the hug a little to look at Sans his smile froze in place.

“…BROTHER…? ARE YOU OKAY?”

Upon seeing how Sans' shoulders drooped, how he wasn't looking at Papyrus in the eye, the enthusiasm drained from him so quickly it might as well have never even existed. Gently, Papyrus put a hand on Sans’ cheek, turning it to look at him and-

His grin faded into a look of incredulity and oncoming dread that had no place being on Papyrus' face.

"... S-Sans? What… What’s wrong? … Why are you crying…?”

The terror in his brother's voice was what did it. Sans couldn't remember when he'd last cried, so of course that was what had tipped Papyrus off to the fact that something was horribly wrong. Knowing that his worthlessness had brought them to this, that he was about to abandon Papyrus in this horrible world that they'd stupidly fought so hard to get to, it just... broke him.

"i'm... i'm so so-orry pap-" his voice cracked halfway through his sentence, his whole body shaking so much he knew that if he hadn’t been in Papyrus’ arms he would have dropped to the floor. He couldn't bear to look at his brother, to see the pain he was causing "i tried, i swear i- i tried so hard, i just- i wasn’t good enough, i was never good enough-”

A sudden crushing hug stopped him from continuing, and as if a switch had been flipped Sans couldn't hold in his sobs, clutching at his brother's back desperately, at that nice shirt with a superhero stamp on it that his previous humans had given him. He could hear Papyrus trying to comfort him, but his voice quickly lost any sort of soothing quality it may have had when he started crying with him.

Papyrus could connect the dots; he was smart like that.

He could tell that Sans wasn’t upset about being returned once, and he knew well enough what happened if the humans in charge didn’t think a monster was worth selling anymore.

Papyrus practically shouted empty reassurances at the desolate room, the desperation in the way he said the words rendering them useless. But he still tried his best, still injected some fake hope into his voice.

"IT'S- IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY! THEY'RE GOING TO REALIZE HOW GREAT YOU ARE IN A FEW MINUTES, A-AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO TRAVEL TOGETHER TO A BIG HOUSE WHERE THE... THE HUMANS ARE NICE AND THEY LET ME COOK AND YOU'RE A-ALLOWED TO NAP AT ANY POINT A-A-AND-"

"pap- pap, listen" Sans grabbed onto his brother's broad shoulders, all too close to hyperventilating. He needed to say what he wanted to before his time ran out; there would be time for sobbing on the way to his final destination.

"the humans- they're not your friends. they'll never be your friends, no matter how much they try to pretend otherwise.” Sans could see Papyrus' will crumbling, the almost extinguished hope slowly evaporating.

He hated doing this to him, to destroy his endless trust in the fact that people could do better...

But Sans wouldn't be there to protect him anymore, hadn’t been for a while. Who knew who had taken advantage of his brother’s endless pool of compassion during those two years?

"you- you need to look out for yourself, okay baby bro? c-can you do that for me?" at first the taller shook his head rapidly, shut his eyes, grabbed at his older brother's back tighter. When Sans pressed his forehead against his, Papyrus couldn't help but sob erratically.

"i know you can do it, bro. you can beat this world, you can make... make the best of anything they throw at you, and you'll rise to the top. i know you will. you’ve already survived this long, i know you can keep going. i’m so, s-so proud of you. all you have to do now is…” Sans clenched his teeth “l-let me go."

The door opened.

Papyrus looked up over Sans' skull with a horrified expression, arms clutching at him tightly.

"NO! GET-GET OUT OF HERE! YOU'RE NOT TAKING HIM!"

It was the most desperate Sans had ever heard his brother. He knew, if they'd had access to their magic, Papyrus would have formed half a dozen bones to protect him from the moment he'd stepped foot into the room.

But they didn't. They didn't have their magic; neither of them had had access to it for two years.

They were harmless.

Papyrus was powerless as staff of the warehouse were ordered to tear the siblings apart.

Papyrus held onto him as hard as he could, but it was a war of attrition, and eventually one of the humans snatched Sans up and held him to his chest. It was nothing like how Papyrus had held him a few minutes before; it was hard, unforgiving, clinging to him merely to stop him from moving.

No matter how much he struggled, Sans was weak and didn’t have any magic. It was useless.

They'd lost the moment they'd left the Underground.

” _NO!_ **_SANS_ _!_** ”

Despite the fear, the pain and the sadness, Sans looked back at his brother with a grin. It was marred with tears, and his eye lights spoke of terror and desperation, but it was a smile, nonetheless. As they started taking him away, three guards stopping his brother from running over to him, Sans laughed brokenly.

"... you're doing great, papyrus. i love you.”

Even through his agonized expression, down on the floor and trapped down by the guards, Papyrus sobbed out his goodbye almost quietly.

"... I love you too, brother... I'm sorry."

And the door slammed shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- lestychu: 
> 
> Hoooooooo I'm so sorry for being so slow between updates! I'll try to get a bit of a better writing schedule going ;u; Things have just been *a lot*. 
> 
> Thank you guys so much for reading though!! A lot of this chappie was inspired by MrYaksup (my sweet sweet gorlfriend). She really helped me figure it out and the ending especially figured out all thanks to her! 
> 
> I'll try to have the next one up soon! See you guys in the next chapter! 
> 
> My twitter: https://twitter.com/beangreenn  
> MrYaksup twitter:  
> (SFW art) https://twitter.com/MYaksup  
> (NSFW main) https://twitter.com/skelliesandmore
> 
> Btw! If you guys want prompts to get written out my girlfriend is actually holding a small little thing on her twitter! If she likes your prompts enough she'll write a small little drabble! Go check it out!!
> 
> \- MrYaksup:
> 
> Ehehe... hey guys. If any of you read Wavering Integrity, while there's some details that aren't canon to my version of slavetale, the entirety of Sans' and Pap's conversation at the end IS canon, as well as the way Sans ended up being sent to the training facility (aka getting returned too many times.) 
> 
> *sips on you guys' tears*


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